Lady Vols Blank Missouri, 4-0

Sunday, April 4

Knoxville, Tenn.

11 a.m. ET

University of Tennessee

Missouri

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2021.03.05 - Tennessee vs. South Carolina

Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

April 04, 2021 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Results

By: Ricky Martinez

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee women's tennis team was dominant on Sunday, blanking Missouri 4-0.

"I'm really proud of the way our team competed all weekend," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We are gaining competitive experience from every match we play and as we near the end of our regular season, I feel really good about our squad's ability to compete at a high level."

The Lady Vols (12-6, 6-4 SEC) improve to a perfect 9-0 at home in the 2021 dual match season with their win over the Tigers (15-13, 1-10 SEC).

UT earned a tightly-contested doubles point with wins on courts three and two.

The junior pair of Daria Kuczer and Kylie Duckworth earned the first win of the day, downing Gabrielle Goldin and Valentina Vazquez 6-4 for their first win as a pair.

Sophomore Carly Briggs and freshman Esther Adeshina picked up their second-straight win as a pair, downing Ellie Wright and Bronte Murgett 7-5 to give the Lady Vols a 1-0 advantage.

In singles play, UT won three straight-set matches on courts six, four and five to claim the match.

Senior Johanna Silva claimed the first solo win of the day, blowing past Marta Oliveira 6-1, 6-1. The Hamburg, Germany native picked up her 84th-career win, placing her a pair of wins outside the top-15 all-time in program wins.

Seconds after Silva won her match on court six, Kuczer won her season-long eighth-straight singles match to give UT a 3-0 lead. The junior convincingly downed Elys Ventura 6-1, 6-2 to improve to an impressive 15-1 record in dual-match play, 9-0 at home and closes the weekend with a 8-1 record in SEC play in her debut season on Rocky Top.

With a win on court five, senior Tenika McGiffin provided the final margin of victory. The Brisbane, Australia product downed Valentina Vazquez 6-3, 6-4 to improve to 11-4 in dual-match play and is a perfect 9-0 on Rocky Top.

Up next the Lady Vols close out the regular season at home against Auburn on Thursday and Alabama on Friday. First serve for both matches is set for noon ET and UT is slated to honor Silva, the lone graduating senior on the team, on Saturday with a Senior Day celebration.

University of Tennessee 4, Mizzou 0
Singles competition
1. #96 Rebeka Mertena (UT) vs. Ellie Wright (MIZ) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
2. #68 Eleonora Molinaro (UT) vs. #78 Bronte Murgett (MIZ) 6-4, 5-7, 0-0, unfinished
3. #45 Carly Briggs (UT) vs. Serena Nash (MIZ) 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
4. Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Elys Ventura (MIZ) 6-1, 6-2
5. Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Valentina Vazquez (MIZ) 6-3, 6-4
6. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Marta Oliveira (MIZ) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Tenika McGiffin/Eleonora Molinaro (UT) vs. Marta Oliveira/Serena Nash (MIZ) 5-5, unfinished
2. Carly Briggs/Esther Adeshina (UT) def. Ellie Wright/Bronte Murgett (MIZ) 7-5
3. Daria Kuczer/Kylie Duckworth (UT) def. Gabrielle Goldin/Valentina Vazquez (MIZ) 6-4
Match Notes:
Mizzou 15-13, 1-10 SEC
University of Tennessee 12-6, 6-4 SEC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,4,5)

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